Breaking Records Again

AUBURN, Ala. – Mikayla Blakes rewrote the NCAA record book once again Sunday afternoon, as she broke the NCAA freshman single-game scoring record with 55 points in a 98-88 overtime win at Auburn on Sunday afternoon.

Blake, who previously set the NCAA true freshman scoring record with 53 points at Florida on Jan. 30, broke Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne’s NCAA freshman scoring record of 54 points she scored as a redshirt freshman back during the 2009-10 season. Blakes is the first freshman since the turn of the century to record two 50-plus point performances in the same season, while she is the fourth NCAA Division I player to accomplish the feat since 1999-00.

The win ends Vanderbilt’s three-game skid, as the Commodores are now 19-7 overall and 6-6 in SEC play. Auburn moves to 12-14 on the year and now stands at 3-10 in league play.

Vanderbilt overcame its second-largest deficit in the second half since the turn of the century by erasing a 15-point Auburn lead late in the fourth quarter. It was two points shy of the largest comeback this century for the Dores, which came on March 7, 2004, when the Commodores completed a 17-point comeback against Georgia.

Blakes shot 53.6 percent from the field, going 15-of-28 from the floor. The freshman from Somerset, New Jersey, went 23-of-24 from the free throw line, as she made her first 23 free throw attempts. The guard dished out a team-high five assists and added five rebounds and three steals to her stat line.

Additionally, Blakes’ 55 points at Auburn broke her own SEC single-game scoring record of 53 points set at Florida on Jan. 30. The 55 points also set the Neville Arena single-game scoring record for either a men’s or women’s basketball player.

The Commodores trailed the Tigers by 15 points at 74-59 with 6:55 remaining in the game. Vanderbilt went on a 20-5 run from there to pull even with Auburn at 79-all with 53 seconds left in the contest. The Tigers regained an 81-79 advantage with a pair of free throws with 32 seconds remaining. Vandy was called for an offensive foul on the ensuing possession with 12 seconds left, and Auburn went 1-of-2 from the line to push its lead to three points.

Vanderbilt made it a one-possession game with a pair of free throws from Blakes, but Auburn answered with a couple of free throws to go back up 84-81 with seven seconds left. Blakes was fouled on a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left in regulation and hit all three free throws to send the game into overtime at 84-84.

Vandy used the momentum built in the fourth quarter to outscore Auburn 14-4 in overtime to score the 10-point, come-from-behind victory over the Tigers. Blakes’ made a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left to set the NCAA freshman single-game scoring record. The guard scored 30 points combined in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Blakes’ 55 points pushed her double-digit scoring streak to 12 games. It was her fourth 30-plus point performance of the year, all four of which have come in SEC play. Additionally, it was Blakes’ 16th game scoring 20 or more points, a mark that leads all NCAA Division I freshmen this season.

Sophomore Khamil Pierre registered double-digit points for the fourth-straight game with a 19-point performance The 6-2 forward has now scored double-digit points in 27 of her last 28 games dating back to last season.

The Commodores shot 50.8 percent from the floor in the win, while connecting on 33.3 percent of their shots from behind the arc. Vanderbilt forced Auburn into 15 turnovers which led to a 21-13 edge in points off turnovers for the Dores. Vandy won the rebounding battle, 33-31, led by sophomore Aiyana Mitchell’s career-high seven rebounds,

Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Win
“We needed to play with a sense of urgency today. We’ve had a really tough couple of weeks, in a bunch of different ways. Personally, I haven’t slept since the Mississippi State game. I knew coming in here today that we needed to win this game. That is the mindset our team showed up with.

“I want to say that while it was another amazing performance from Mikayla, she wouldn’t have been able to do that if some other players didn’t step up. I thought Leilani Kapinus was amazing today. Aiyana Mitchell came in and got some big rebounds. Madison Greene, Jordyn Oliver, and Khamil Pierre all were outstanding. There are lots of ways that we are growing. I’m proud of the resiliency that our team showed today and I’m excited for them to celebrate a huge win on the road.”

Up Next
The Commodores continue their brief two-game SEC road trip on Thursday, as Vanderbilt travels to No. 16/17 Oklahoma. Tipoff against the Sooners is set for 6 p.m. and streams live on SEC Network+.

Dore Notes

• Freshman Mikayla Blakes set the NCAA freshman single-game scoring record with 55 points at Auburn
• Her 55 points also set the SEC women’s basketball and Vanderbilt single-game scoring records
• Blakes is the first NCAA freshman to have two 50-plus point games in the same since since the turn of the century
• Blakes extended her double-digit scoring streak to 12 games
• It is the fourth game that Blakes has scored 30-plus points this season, as she is the only NCAA freshman with four or more 30-point performances this season
• Blakes has scored double-digit points in every SEC game she has played in, while it is her eighth league game with 20-plus points
• It is Blakes’ 16th game this season with 20-plus points, which leads all NCAA Division I freshmen
• Sophomore Khamil Pierre pushed her double-digit scoring streak to four games with 19 points at Auburn
• Pierre has now scored 10-plus points in 27 of her last 28 games dating back to last season
• Sophomore Aiyana Mitchell pulled down a career-best seven rebounds
• Vanderbilt is now 32-25 all-time vs. Auburn and 3-1 vs. the Tigers under head coach Shea Ralph
• The Commodores snap a four-game losing streak at Auburn, as Vandy collects its first win at Neville Arena since Jan. 9, 2014

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